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Wednesday, 20 January 2016

Wild Bird Wednesday 182 - Lord Howe Island (Pied) Currawong

Island have a tendency to be occupied by unique species - I have already posted about the Woodhen which is a species that is endemic to Lord Howe.

This bird is a sub-species of one which is found on the the mainland of Australia - the Pied Currawong. This species is called the Lord Howe Island Pied Currawong, or just the Lord Howe Island Currawong.

Its species name is Strepera graculina crissali - which is a bit of a mouthful, the but the first two parts mean "jackdaw-like noisy bird". This clearly comes from the 'crow' like appearance of the bird, and the fact that they are rather vocal.

The LHI subspecies has a larger beak than the mainland bird, but also has a distinctly different voice. They are inquisitive birds and will follow you about. The bird on the log here was making a very good effort to trash the log in search of food, and seemed not to mind as I shuffled along the ground towards it. These pictures were taken in deep shade, so I used a flash which is not common for me.

He is actually a handsome bird, but has a big schnoz (Beak) that gives him a Grandpaish look. These are wonderful shots and good for you using your flash because it brought out the detail that we otherwise would have missed. Black birds are hard to get good shots of. At least with the orange eye, you don't lose that feature in his blackness. Nice job Stewart and as a lover of my crows, I have a special place in my heart for all black birds who seem to be maligned for no good reason.